Hey. It looks like I'm getting close to my limit on my laptop. I see that Ro and several others use the Western Digital My Passport EHDs. I was looking at those and the Seagates. Any reason to go with one over the other? And I'm just aiming for the 500GB right now.

I was reading some customer reviews and some were complaining about the WD doing an automatic update of everything.
Does it have choices of what to backup and when?

You don't have to install the software that comes with your ehd. That is what does the automatic back-up that can sometimes go awry. I never use it. I like to have more control than that. I found a Western Digital Elements portable drive which is the same size as the passport, but costs less because it doesn't come with the software. I found the 1 TB on sale for just over $100.

I would assume it works the same way when you are saving a file you would select the EHD as the destination. I used it to store my friend's kits that she designed when I was doing layouts for her so I didn't get them confused with my SG items. I hope that makes sense.

When I am designing, I save twice using the "save as" command: once to my computer's hard drive, and once to the EHD. When I had a smaller computer, I saved twice as well: to the first EHD, and then to the second EHD. Knock on wood.... haven't lost any files! EHDs do fail, so it's important to save to AT LEAST 2 places. And I agree with April, I don't ever use automatic backup because I like to control the process.

I use Carbonite as a backup. But, I guess with an EHD, I'll have to switch to someone like Mozy.

Is there any reason not to get the larger size WD Elements instead of the smaller SE version? Meaning, for the same money I can get the physically larger unit and more memory. Or for the same memory, spend less money...but for the larger unit. I really only scrap in one place. And how much of a problem would it be to move the larger unit if I did want to scrap elsewhere?

Personal Statement:I am a mom, wife, sister, friend and daughter not necessarily in that order.

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Posted 23 September 2010 - 07:44 PM

One thing to know about EHD's is the desktop models are designed to be left connected to a computer most of the time. If you need a smaller more portable one go for a WD passport. WD has great customer service and warrantys.

I only have WD hard drives both internal and external..

hope that does not muddy the waters.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. reinhold niebuhr

The portable external drives are made with laptop drives and are usb powered. The larger drives are made with standard sized drives, require a power cord and are, well, bigger. They are also less expensive. The smaller drives are much easier to tuck in your laptop bag when you travel. I have traveled with a bigger drive and much prefer the small ones. The WD Elements drive I have is a smaller, laptop-sized drive. They make them in both portable and desktop sizes. Happy shopping!

I had a passport that the auto backup software messed up and I lost a bunch of stuff, but it was recoverable finally. When I switched to a mac and got a new one, I just reformatted it, it no longer auto backups and I just have to drag and drop, but its worked perfectly since. No problems. Seagate not mac compatible unless you find a special version (I haven't). I have 5 WDs now.

I would definitely go with a bigger drive - they fill up so much faster than you think they will..lol. One thing to remember is that EHD's are just storage devices, kind of like a huge floppy disk (remember those? lol) and can be easily unplugged and stored away. I have two that are full and are sitting up on a self as backup. They are really easy to set up right out of the box and since I put mine behind my monitor they don't take up any prime real estate on my desk lol. They aren't all that big in the first place in fact my newest one is almost as small as the passport. I use Mozy to back all my files up

What if you don't want it as a back up...what if you want it for the space?

I have 4 EHD's - 1 each for Sg stuff and photos, (both WD passports) and then two big ones for double back up. (1 Seagate 750, I 2TB WD). I'm happy with the portability of the passports, and I'm happy with the bigger ones for back up. All the way around.

I don't install the auto software. I learned on the SEagate that when you do that it auto copies everything, effectively cutting your space in half. I didn't like that at all, so I just use it as another drive and deleted all the extra copies of everything. It works great though. I just didn't like the software. Overall I like the WD better, but both are good.

I would go for bigger capacity. You won't believe how fast they fill up.
I keep my SG supplies on an EHD (it's lasted through 3 computers, although we plan to retire it soon) and back up to 2 additional EHDs.
I use Sync Toy to back up my pictures and scrapbooking supplies. It works like a charm.
We recently bought the WD 1 Tb My Book, and it's amazingly small.